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Separating out sections in a database

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    Separating out sections in a database

    This is just a little help that might be of interest to some.

    I like to separate out the groups of data in a table so that I can see them easier so what I do is this.

    ___Contact_Info___ and I make it 2 characters

    In this area I put the name, address, etc. and everything basic.

    ___Personal_Info___ again 2 characters

    In this area I would put school went to, intersts or hobbies, age, etc.

    ___Family_Info___ again 2 characters again

    which would include same stuff on the family.

    ___Data_Enterer_Info___ again 2 characters

    time data was entered, time modified, each by whom


    I have three to five areas that things get separated out in the databases and it is just for ease of use, no other benefit that I know of.

    Hope this makes sense and is of help.

    #2
    Re: Separating out sections in a database

    Originally posted by SmartMLMer View Post
    I have three to five areas that things get separated out in the databases and it is just for ease of use, no other benefit that I know of.
    What do you mean by this? How does the information get separated? Are these the separate areas and there are other fields in each area? If so, you could create a table for each area and link them by a common field.

    Ease of use? How so? It's difficult to make suggestions w/o knowing more info. But, perhaps others have ideas as well.

    kenn
    TYVM :) kenn

    Knowing what you can achieve will not become reality until you imagine and explore.

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Separating out sections in a database

      Hi Bruce,

      This might seem a good idea to keep fields in the same area in a table structure but in practice a bad one.

      First of all you can move fields up and down when you are in table design mode.

      Second, when you want to select a field to use on a layout you can set the order of the fields to Alphabetical.

      Third, you can always prefix your fields with a section code "Addr_Addrs_1" "Addr_Addrs_2", etc.

      So the bottom line is dont put fields into a database that you know are going to be redundant before you start.
      Last edited by Keith Hubert; February 12, 2009, 12:36 AM.
      Regards
      Keith Hubert
      Alpha Guild Member
      London.
      KHDB Management Systems
      Skype = keith.hubert


      For your day-to-day Needs, you Need an Alpha Database!

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Separating out sections in a database

        Dear Hubert,

        I have found this easy to use BUT I have not even known how to alphabetize them if I wanted to but it does allow me to put in information in categories and because I only use forms I never use them in the forms themselves as they are not of any use there. But I get to find things easier in this way.
        Will have to learn more about Alpha and maybe remove them at that point.
        Thank you for sharing your understanding.
        Bruce

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Separating out sections in a database

          Originally posted by forskare View Post
          What do you mean by this? How does the information get separated? Are these the separate areas and there are other fields in each area? If so, you could create a table for each area and link them by a common field.

          Ease of use? How so? It's difficult to make suggestions w/o knowing more info. But, perhaps others have ideas as well.

          kenn
          Dear Ken,
          This is just something that I, a novice in this field, figured to stop myself from having to look to much for a field or group of fields.
          I use it in this way.
          field 1: ___Name___
          field 2: First_Name
          field 3: Last_Name
          etc.,
          field 10: ___Personal_Info___
          field 11: DOB
          field 12: hobbies
          field 13: school went to
          field 14: goals
          field 15:
          etc.,
          field 20: ___Family_Info___
          field 21: spouse
          field 22: spouse DOB
          etc.

          It helps me to separate everything out clearly in the table and makes it easy for me to work with the table to make adjustments there.
          More skilled programmer probably use more tables than I do but for a sales program this works well for me.
          Hope it is of help.
          Bruce

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Separating out sections in a database

            Bruce, it's comforting to have everything in one table, but it's also limiting. When you gain a bit more experience consider splitting off the related groups to separate tables.

            As things stand right now you'd have a bit of trouble extracting a list of all the folks who golf and shared the same goals.

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Separating out sections in a database

              Good point Tom, I am trying to figure out what is the best way to go about doing that. I hear wild stories about people have 800 fields in a table and I am in awe that they have that many in a complete database, my needs being so much simiplier.
              Thank you for your input.
              Bruce

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Separating out sections in a database

                :)

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Separating out sections in a database

                  I'm curious. How can you put more than 2 characters in each "2 character" field?

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Separating out sections in a database

                    Hi Robert,

                    The fields that Bruce was thinking of having with just the 2 characters, were dummy fields not to be used anywhere, just for his own use so he can see what fields he is using.

                    Not a good way to build a table. Bruce will soon realise when he comes to add child tables. eg. Did the Last_name only go to one school? Also, how is he going to add real children to the application?

                    Bruce is learning and he asked for help on this forum, it is only fair that we should do just that and point him direction of good database development.
                    Regards
                    Keith Hubert
                    Alpha Guild Member
                    London.
                    KHDB Management Systems
                    Skype = keith.hubert


                    For your day-to-day Needs, you Need an Alpha Database!

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Separating out sections in a database

                      I whole heartedly agree. This is where I come for help with Alpha. I asked the question because I didn't understand what he was doing, based on the way he stated things. Now that I understand these are dummy fields, I understand what he is doing.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Separating out sections in a database

                        Thanks guys. It is great having you here.

                        I am going to look at the tables needed and separate things out.

                        Bruce

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Separating out sections in a database

                          I struggled at first with the concept of "sets" and using linking fields to relate information together. Once I got the concept I was freed from my flat-file thinking.

                          If you need to use the data right now go ahead keep the flat file approach, for now. But learn how to place each type of data in it's own table and link them together using "sets".

                          One thing that helped me was creating my lists in an Excel (actually, at the time I was using QuatroPro) spreadsheet. I could lay it all out in front of me and clearly see the relationships. Once I created the sets, all the forms, browses, and report editors kept my lists sorted by category automatically due to my properly laying out my tables.

                          Sean

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Separating out sections in a database

                            Thanks Sean,

                            I had that thought as well but for the simple things but am seeing more how to use the relational side of this program.

                            Happy Sunday,

                            Bruce

                            Comment

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